1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to injectors, and more particularly to springs used to bias injector components.
2. Description of Related Art
Traditional springs are used in a variety of applications in injectors and nozzles, such as fuel injectors for gas turbine engines. Exemplary uses of springs in conventional injectors include use in biasing fuel strainers into position, biasing valve hold down components away from external injector walls, biasing scheduling valve components, and the like. Traditional springs in such applications can suffer from loss of spring force, can be difficult to assemble, add to part count, and take up considerable space. For example, traditional wave springs used to bias valve components away from injector walls can loose their spring due to heat from welding operations on adjacent components. The welding heat can anneal the spring and thereby render the spring ineffective.
Such conventional methods and systems have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there is still a need in the art for injector springs that allow for improved performance and that can provided for lower part count, easier assembly, and smaller size envelope and weight. There also remains a need in the art for such injector springs that are easy to make and use. The present invention provides a solution for these problems.